Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul released a statement condemning the idea and littered with gist-obscuring words like “families” and “job creators.” Per Saul: “President Obama’s response to even more bad economic news is a massive tax increase. It just proves again that the President doesn’t have a clue how to get America working again and help the middle class. The President’s latest bad idea is to raise taxes on families, job creators, and small businesses.”

*The Washington Post’*s Greg Sargent theorizes that Obama’s proposed tax cut represents “an effort to put Republicans on the spot by forcing them to declare that they won’t support a middle class tax cut unless it’s coupled with an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich.” To review: two people of the same sex in a loving, long-term relationship: should not couple. Tax cuts for billionaires and tax cuts for the middle class: O.K. to couple.